GiftCard Partners Blog

Although we all know that gift cards are nothing new, it's also clear that they're not going anywhere anytime soon. Much of their stable market has to do with the new digital trends and shifts happening within the gift card industry. With these shifts, comes a change in consumer perception of gift cards as well. Gift cards are a way for retailers to appeal to their consumers, making loyal shoppers out of many of their customers through gift card reward programs. But gift cards have also remained popular as purchases for, well, gifts. Much of this is due to convenience, especially with the growth of digital e-cards, which make it simple to purchase and send quickly and without waiting in line. For those retailers  looking to increase their gift card sales, however, they may have to offer a little something extra along with them. According to a new survey,
17 percent of consumers won't buy a gift card until they see a promotion of some sort happening along side it, and 23 percent take promotions into consideration when deciding where to buy their gift cards between competing retailers. But as anyone in retail or the gift card industry knows, no matter how the technology or promotions change, gift cards will always give customers an incentive to visit your store, a gift that's priceless.
Statistics are courtesy of Incentive -- read the full article here.

The weather is getting warmer and employees minds are starting to wander to that summer vacation to the beach or the lake. Springtime is the perfect time to devise a way to keep employees focused and motivated from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Variety is the name of the game with employee motivation, the key to success is finding a reward that everyone likes. Here are a few ideas:

Trends in the gift card industry are changing. Many of the shifts are due to new technology and advances in the digital world. Some are based on pure convenience. From social media to e-gift cards, here are some of the largest gift card trends right now:
A Change in Channel Where users buy their gift cards is changing in a big way. In only one year, in-person gift card sales have decreased by 10 percent, from 61 to 51 percent of all card sales. Online purchases, on the other hand, grew by 10 percent, which leads us to believe that those 10 percent who are no longer buying their gift cards in person are now buying them online.
Social Media Gift Cards Although still on the low end, this new way to buy and use gift cards is gaining momentum. You may see these card offerings on Facebook when it's your friend's birthday, or even when you visit a retailer's page who's very tapped in to the social world. There are now several opportunities to both buy and redeem gift cards directly through social platforms, such as Facebook. Now, over eight percent of gift card purchasing is done through social media.
E-Gift Cards Grow E-gift cards are definitely one of the fastest growing trends in the card industry. In just one year, the amount of people who bought e-gift cards grew by 15 percent, from 21 to 36 percent. The growth of this trend makes sense, what with the ease and convenience of digital gift cards. Plus, more and more retailers are now offering these as an option.
Gift Card Apps There is now new technology that allows users to store their gift cards in their phone via app, taking the idea of digital gift cards to a whole new level.

We all learned the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This rule (as your mother may have told you) applies in all parts of life and is particularly applicable to cases of employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction peaks when the workforce is happen and free of negativity. Negativity can spread quickly and can often stem from employees feeling as though the organization has put support of its own interest at the expense of the workforce. If employees feel as though they are being used at the expense of the company negativity can take hold. Ensuring your employee satisfaction means balancing organization goals with employee goals and ensuring that employees feel that their voices are heard. Mitigating negativity and motivating employees towards organizational goals is an easy and fixed-cost way to ensure employee satisfaction. Public recognition and occasional small employee rewards like small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
Boston Market,
The Cheesecake Factory or
Whole Foods Market is a great way to boost employee motivation and ultimately employee satisfaction.

On the surface hiring "selfish" employees doesn't seem like a great idea. They can lack a "team player" mentality, can be out only for themselves and can be totally unwilling to collaborate and listen to other people's ideas. The counterargument to that is that "selfish" employees are highly motivated and know what they want to succeed. Knowing that an employee is self motivated allows their employer to play to their personal goals and motivate them efficiently and effectively. Offering small denomination gift cards for reaching small goals at work, that will help them reach small milestones in their personal life are a great way to get a self-centered employee working hard and accomplishing your company goals. If you have a runner on staff training for a race a gift card to
GNC might be a great way to help them stay fit. If you have a car enthusiast an
AutoZone gift card may be a great way to keep them focused at work but excited to fix up the car in their garage. Find out what your employees do outside of work and help them create a work-life balance by motivating both parts of their like. Selfish may become self-motivated before you know it.
For more information on motivating self-driven employees check out Business Management Daily.